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Views: 4 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-01-20 Origin: Site
As rack power densities sprint past 50kW and AI chips exceed 1000W, the debate is no longer "Air vs. Liquid," but "Direct-to-Chip vs. Immersion." Making the wrong choice here doesn't just impact cooling efficiency; it dictates your entire facility's infrastructure, floor loading, and maintenance protocols.
While immersion cooling boasts impressive theoretical efficiency, Cold Plate Liquid Cooling (Direct-to-Chip) remains the most viable solution for retrofitting existing data centers and targeting high-heat flux components with precision.
As the Chief Manufacturing Engineer at Kingka Tech, I have overseen the production of thousands of custom thermal loops. Below, I will break down the engineering data, material trade-offs, and reliability factors to help you decide which architecture suits your deployment.
What do the numbers actually look like when comparing these two technologies?
Before diving into manufacturing details, let’s look at the operational data. We often advise clients that while Immersion offers a lower PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), Cold Plate technology wins on compatibility and ease of deployment.
Table 1: Technical & Operational Comparison
Engineering Insight:
If you are building a "Greenfield" (brand new) hyperscale facility, Immersion is a contender. However, for the majority of our clients upgrading existing server-grade infrastructure, Cold Plate Liquid Cooling provides 80% of the efficiency gains with 10% of the infrastructure headache.
Can bulk fluid cooling handle the extreme heat flux of a modern GPU?
This is where manufacturing precision plays a critical role. Immersion relies on natural or forced convection of a large fluid volume. In contrast, Cold Plates use engineered micro-channels to accelerate fluid velocity exactly where it is needed—right over the silicon die.
The Kingka Advantage:
We utilize high-precision CNC machining to create complex internal flow paths (skived fins or machined channels <0.3mm). This allows us to control the pressure drop and ensure uniform fluid distribution across the plate.
Application Case:
For a recent high-power AI computing project, we designed a cold plate with variable channel widths—narrower over the GPU core for maximum heat transfer, and wider at the periphery to reduce flow resistance. This level of "thermal shaping" is difficult to achieve with immersion alone.
Table 2: Heat Transfer Mechanisms
How do different coolants affect your BOM (Bill of Materials) and component longevity?
Material selection is not just about cost; it’s about chemistry. Kingka Tech’s engineering team frequently consults with clients to match the metal alloy to the specific fluid architecture.
Cold Plate Ecosystem:
We typically manufacture cold plates using Oxygen-Free Copper (C1020/C1100) for the base and Aluminum (6061) or Stainless Steel for the cover.
Critical Note: Since these systems often use deionized water or PG25 (Propylene Glycol), we apply rigorous passivation or Nickel plating to prevent galvanic corrosion between the copper cold plate and aluminum radiator parts.
Immersion Ecosystem:
Immersion fluids are dielectric (non-conductive) oils. While they don't cause short circuits, they can degrade certain plastics, rubbers, and thermal pastes over time. The metal components are less prone to corrosion, but the entire board BOM must be validated for chemical compatibility.
Need help selecting the right alloy?
We can provide a material compatibility report based on your system's specific coolant and operating lifespan requirements.
Does your facility have the physical capacity to support your cooling choice?
One of the most frequent challenges we solve for data center and telecom clients is fitting high-performance cooling into limited spaces.
The Weight Penalty: Immersion tanks are incredibly heavy due to the volume of fluid (often 1000+ liters). Most standard raised floors cannot support this weight without structural reinforcement.
The Cold Plate Solution:
Kingka Tech specializes in customizing cold plate dimensions and interface layouts. We can design ultra-thin profiles to fit inside standard 1U/2U server chassis, utilizing complex internal flow structures to maximize performance without changing the server's outer envelope.
Project Experience: We successfully converted a client's air-cooled blade server design to liquid cooling by developing a custom manifold and cold plate assembly that utilized the existing mounting points, allowing for a "drop-in" upgrade.
How do you ensure zero leaks in a high-pressure loop?
In an immersion tank, a leak is messy but rarely catastrophic. In a cold plate system, a leak can destroy hardware. Therefore, the manufacturing quality of the cold plate is the single most critical risk factor.
At Kingka Tech, we do not rely on sampling; we rely on 100% validation.
Testing Protocol:
Helium Leak Detection: Capable of finding microscopic leaks that water would miss.
Hydrostatic Pressure Test: We test at 1.5x to 2x the operating pressure to simulate pump surges.
Flow & Thermal Characterization: Verifying that the complex internal channels deliver the expected thermal resistance ($R_{th}$) at the rated flow rate.
Whether you need a quick-turn prototype for validation or a stable mass-production run for a global rollout, our process ensures that the 10,000th unit performs exactly like the first.
The choice between Cold Plate and Immersion cooling is rarely binary; it depends on your specific constraints.
Choose Immersion if you are building a new facility with reinforced floors and want to maximize PUE across a homogenous hardware set.
Choose Cold Plate if you need High-efficiency liquid cooling that integrates with standard racks, targets high-power chips (CPU/GPU) with precision, and offers easy serviceability.
Kingka Tech stands ready to support your decision with engineering data, not just sales pitches. With our expertise in CNC precision machining, material engineering, and system-level assembly, we can turn your thermal challenges into a competitive advantage.
Don't guess when it comes to heat dissipation.
Contact Kingka Tech today for a DFM (Design for Manufacturability) review. Let’s discuss how we can engineer a custom liquid cooling solution that balances performance, cost, and reliability for your next project.
